My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 66 Angry People of Chang'an
Rumors in Chang'an City suddenly became a hot topic.

The news spread in every wine shop in the neighborhood.

The profession of storyteller did not exist in the Tang Dynasty and only developed in the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, rumors usually spread in taverns.

Grain was cheap in the Tang Dynasty, so there were many winemakers and wine shops.

Li Chengqian knew how to stir up emotions, and he always tried to exaggerate things.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s fake or not, as long as it has a big impact.

If one person says it is false, a hundred people say it is half false, and if a thousand or ten thousand people say it is half false, the false becomes true.

"The Goryeo envoys are making bold statements. The Tang Dynasty should bow down to them and pay tribute."

"If you don't obey, we will march into Chang'an, and the men will be slaves and the women will be maids."

"Goryeo is so arrogant? That's impossible. Isn't it a small country in the north?"

"Of course not. Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goryeo three times, and his million-strong army was defeated by them every time."

"In that case, Goryeo is indeed terrifying."

"I heard that if the saint doesn't respond, they will shoot out one of his eyes."

People were in panic, and rumors were everywhere that Goryeo was going to attack Chang'an City.

Many people did not believe it at first, but once they went out, they started talking about it everywhere.

There was a rumor that a certain big merchant had fled overnight, and all the foreign merchants were leaving to avoid the war. It was very detailed and convincing.

The Jinwu Guards, who were supposed to stop the rumors, seemed to be completely unaware and allowed the rumors to spread.

The imperial court didn't stop it, isn't this true?
There were indeed quite a few wealthy families who were planning to leave Chang'an City to seek refuge.

"General, is it really okay if you don't stop this?"

"Every town is in a state of chaos, and many people are asking for information. Many Hu merchants are really thinking about leaving."

Pei Xingjian said to Su Dingfang with some concern.

Su Dingfang said: "This is the arrangement of the prince, just act according to the plan."

"Let those Hu merchants who want to leave go. After they get to know the situation outside Chang'an, they will come back."

"Let me tell you that this matter is not just happening here, Prince. It is also the case in other places besides the area under our jurisdiction."

"The left and right Jinwu Guard generals all tacitly allowed the spread of rumors."

Pei Xingjian subconsciously said: "General, could it be a saint?"

Su Dingfang waved his hand: "I can't say."

By the next day, the situation had changed.

Many scholars put down their books and hung up their swords to show that they wanted to join the army and fight for their country.

I heard that Goryeo was going to kill all men in Chang'an who were taller than the wheels.

The wheel was still lying flat.

This is tantamount to a massacre in the entire city, not even sparing the babies in their cradles.

At such an age, full of vigor and vitality, how can one withstand such stimulation?

Many young and middle-aged men clamored to join the army and vowed to fight to the death with Goryeo.

In the streets, if you don't express this meaning, you are a coward and will be looked down upon.

On the third day, the rumor changed again.

They said that Goryeo had not attacked at all and was just trying to scare the people of the Tang Dynasty.

The deceived people were furious and excited, and they all shouted that they wanted to teach Goryeo a lesson.
-
early morning.

Lu Yizhong was the first to stand up and make a memorial.

"The Helan Chushi murder case is now under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple. However, Helan Chushi is a Qianniu of the Eastern Palace, and the Dali Temple Shaoqing is the father-in-law of the Crown Prince. He should avoid suspicion and should not serve as a deputy judge, for fear of being suspected of shielding someone."

In the court, Lu Yizhong became much more confident.

You, the Crown Prince, can't dare to whip me in the court.

The censors just eat dry meals.

Li Shimin turned around and threw the matter to Li Chengqian.

"Prince, what do you think of what Magistrate Lu said?"

What do I think?
I sat and watched.

"Your Majesty, what Magistrate Lu said is absurd. I am the crown prince, and Your Majesty is my father."

"If this is the case, doesn't it mean that Your Majesty has to avoid suspicion because of this case?"

"Besides, the presiding judge is Sun Siqing, and County Magistrate Lu doesn't even trust Sun Siqing." After saying that, Li Chengqian turned his head and looked at Lu Yizhong and said:

"County Magistrate Lu is worried that Su Shaoqing is my father-in-law, and Helan Chushi's Donggong Qianniu will protect me."

"Well, there's no need for a trial. Just convict Helan Chushi directly."

"I beg you again, father, to grant Helan Chushi a special pardon for his hard work over the years."

Li Chengqian bowed to His Majesty and said, "Please approve this, Father."

Lu Yizhong was stunned and didn't know how to start for a moment.

This was not the first or second time that Li Shimin pardoned death row prisoners.

In the fifth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin sentenced Zhang Yungu, the deputy minister of Dali Temple, to death, believing that Zhang Yungu had been corrupt and cheated the emperor. As a result, the people of Dali Temple were panicked and the sentence was severe.

Originally, in the fourth year of Zhenguan, there were only 29 death row prisoners in the entire Tang Dynasty, but the number suddenly rose to 390.

With such achievements, Li Shimin became anxious and hinted to the Dali Temple not to be too strict, but the effect was minimal.

So Li Shimin decided to release all the death row prisoners in the prison, let them go back to their hometowns to see their families, and then come back to be sentenced in the autumn of the following year.

All the ministers in the court were stunned. They thought that His Majesty had no moral principles and that if he did this, the prisoners would probably escape. They were all waiting to see His Majesty make a fool of himself.

Unexpectedly, in the autumn of the following year, all the prisoners did not escape, but returned.

So, Li Shimin was happy and pardoned them all.

After this precedent, Li Shimin occasionally reviewed the cases of death row prisoners in the Dali Temple and pardoned them as long as they were not guilty of heinous crimes.

Now the prince's request to pardon Helan Chushi is really working.

Fortunately, Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Pardoning criminals is your majesty's mercy, but directly convicting without investigation is a flaw in the laws of the Tang Dynasty."

"I think whether or not to pardon Helan Chushi should be decided after the investigation and conviction. If Helan Chushi is not guilty, then it would be a wrongful accusation against a good man, and he would suffer in vain."

Li Chengqian asked: "County Magistrate Lu, do you still think I need to protect Helan Chushi?"

Lu Yizhong said aggrievedly: "Of course not."

Li Chengqian smiled lightly.

This Tang Dynasty is the Li family’s Tang Dynasty.

After that, it was time to attend to government affairs on a daily basis.

The rumors in Chang'an were causing such a stir, but the court officials seemed to have not heard of them and no one reported anything to the emperor.

Even the generals who advocated war remained silent.

Civil officials don't want to fight.

But the generals think that this is not enough.

After leaving the court.

Li Chengqian returned to the East Palace for lunch, then left in an ordinary carriage.

Jinchengfang.

The entrance to the courtyard.

The accompanying guards immediately guarded the gate.

The carriage drove directly into the courtyard.

Li Chengqian got off the carriage and Hou Junji immediately came to greet him.

The prince was taken to the pavilion to discuss matters.

"Your Highness, please intercede for my son-in-law regarding the morning court."

"This bastard has ruined my dignity."

"If I wasn't afraid of my daughter becoming a widow, I would have killed him with my own hands."

Hou Junji's daughter was very strong-willed, after all, she had such a father, so she did not allow Helan Chushi to take a concubine.

On weekdays, Helan Chushi could only seek pleasure in secret.

Lust is human nature, and Hou Junji didn't care too much about it, but when it came to the court and it damaged his face, it was no longer a trivial matter.

Li Chengqian sighed, "It's not difficult to save his life. I'm just worried that he won't be able to resist the instigation of others and will tell others about our plan. That would be bad news."

Hou Junji's expression was uncertain, and he said, "He wouldn't be so stupid."

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "That's not necessarily true. I found the letters between me and Minister Hou in Helan Chushi's residence in the East Palace."

"I think Minister Hou still remembers the contents of the letter. If it gets out, it will be very bad for me and Minister Hou."

"The letter should have been destroyed, but it is still preserved until now. I'm afraid that Minister Hou's son-in-law has some ulterior motives."

When Hou Junji heard this, he was immediately shocked and angry: "How could this happen?"

(End of this chapter)